Women have served in the United States House of Representatives since the 1917 entrance of Jeannette Rankin from Montana, a member of the Republican Party. Over 300 (325) women have since served as U.S. Representatives. As of January 2019, there are 102 women in the U.S. House of Representatives (not counting four female territorial delegates), making women 23.4% of the total of U.S. Representatives.[1] Of the 325 women in the US House 222 have been Democrats (4 from US Territories) and 103 have been Republicans (2 from US Territories).

Women have been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from 46 of the 50 states. The states that have not elected a woman to the U.S. House of Representatives are Alaska, Mississippi, North Dakota and Vermont—though Alaska, Mississippi and North Dakota have elected women to the United States Senate. Women have also been sent to congress from 5 of the 6 territories of the United States; the only Territory that has not sent a woman to the U.S. House of Representatives is the Northern Mariana Islands. California has elected more women to Congress than any other state, with 41 U.S. Representatives elected since 1923. To date, no woman has ever been elected from more than one state at different times, switched parties, or served as a third-party member in her career (though one was elected as an Independent).

Jeannette Rankin entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1917 as the first woman in either chamber of Congress.[2]Florence Prag Kahn entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1925 as the first Jewish woman in either chamber of Congress.[3]

U.S. Representative Vera Buchanan died in 1955, making her the first woman in either chamber to die in office.[4]Patsy Mink, an Asian American, entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1965 as the first woman of color in either chamber of Congress.[5][6] U.S. Representative Charlotte Reid became the first woman to wear pants in the U.S. House of Representatives or U.S. Senate in 1969.[7]

The gym of the U.S. House of Representatives (with the exception of its swimming pool) first opened to women in 1985, the gym having previously been male-only. The swimming pool opened to women in 2009, the pool having previously been male-only.[11]Ileana Ros-Lehtinen entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1989 as the first Latina in either chamber of Congress.[12]Tammy Baldwin entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1999 as the first openly gay woman in either chamber of Congress.[13][14][15]

In 2011, the U.S. House of Representatives got its first women’s bathroom near the chamber (Room H-211 of the U.S. Capitol).[18]Tulsi Gabbard entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013 as the first Hindu person in either chamber of Congress.[19][20] Also in 2013, Kyrsten Sinema entered the U.S. House of Representatives as the first openly bisexual woman in either chamber of Congress.

In the 2018 general elections, there was a wave of firsts elected to the United States House of Representatives for the 116th Congress. A record-breaking 103 women have been elected or re-elected into the United States House of Representatives, causing many to call it the "Year of the Woman".[21]Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women ever elected to either house of Congress, with Tlaib the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress and Omar the first Somali American of either gender to be elected. Also in this election, Angie Craig became the first lesbian mother to be elected to Congress. Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland became the first Native American women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman to be elected into either house of Congress.

Mae Ella Nolan was the first woman elected to her husband's seat in Congress, which is sometimes known as the widow's succession. In the early years of women in Congress, the seat was held only until the next election and the women retired after that single Congress. She thereby became a placeholder merely finishing out her late husband's elected term. As the years progressed, however, more and more of these widow successors sought re-election. These women began to win their own elections.

This is a complete list of women who have served as U.S. Representatives or delegates of the United States House of Representatives, ordered by seniority. Members are grouped by the apportionment period during which such member commenced serving. This list includes women who served in the past and who continue to serve in the present.